Synthetic resin wall and glazing unit



May 31, 1966 J. o. KOHL 3,253,374

SYNTHETIC RESIN WALL AND GLAZING UNIT Filed Jan. 20, 1964 INVENTOR JOH/V 0. KOHL BY f ATTORNE United States Patent sota Filed Jan. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 338,738 4 Claims. (Cl. 52309) This invention relates to synthetic resin wall and glazing units, and has for its principal object to provide a monolithic unit having a main central transparent or translucent glazing member and integral frame and trim members including returns adapted to extend through a wall Ito hcomplete a finished window section of a wall or skyig t.

A further and particular object is to provide an integral synthetic resin unit incorporating frame, trim and jamb liners complete with slots or grooves for blinds, screens and/ or double glazing panels.

Other objects will appear and be more fully pointed out in the following specification and claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawing which illustrates, by way of example and not for the purpose of limitation, a preferred embodiment of my invention:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of one of the units;

FIG. 2 is a central vertical sectional view of the unit, including supporting frame members of a wall; and FIG. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view showmg a channel shaped jamb liner engaging a supporting frame member, and a blind mounted in one of the liner grooves.

In the drawing, a suitably strong synthetic resin sheet is shown molded to provide a central glazing member 4, surrounding exterior trim members 5, interior trim members 6, and jamb liner members indicated at 7, 8 and 9 respectively integral with the trim members. Among the suitably strong synthetic resins ar the cast acrylic resins, including the hard solids, methyl methacrylate or Plexiglas. Such acrylic resins are available in opaque sheet form or various colored, transparent or translucent sheets suitable for molding to the shapes required by my window unit. The central glazing member 4 is formed from transparent or translucent material. The jamb liners 7, 8 and 9 constitute returns adapted to extend through a building wall, and forming with the interior trim members 6, outwardly open channels extending continuously along the four sides of the generally rectangular unit, to receive supporting frame members such as those indicated at 10.

As shown, a pair of the jamb liners 9 extends vertically at opposite sides of the integral unit, and one or more inwardly opening grooves such as those shown at 11 and 12 are provided for blinds, screens or double glazing. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, Venetian blind slats 13 may be supported on horizontal rods 14 and rollers 15 in guide tracks 16 mounted in the parallel grooves 12 at opposite sides of the window opening. Double glazing or a screen may be mounted in the grooves 11. The horizontal jamb liner 8 forms the window sill.

My glazing units are particularly adapted to be prefabricated at a factory with other window and wall units of similar or identical shape to form a relatively large prefabricated wall section. When so fabricated, at minimum cost, the joints between the plastic units and supporting frame members 10 may be made weather-tight by the use of suitable sealants. Examples of such sealants are Weatherban, polybutene ribbon sealers and polysulfide (Thioktfl) Weather sealant.

3,253,374 Patented May 31, 1966 My glazing units are simple and inexpensive to form. The units may also be assembled with the supporting frame members at the site of the building. Vacuum molding and low pressure presses may be used to form the acrylic material when it is warmed to about 300 F. Spandrel solid sections of a wall may be molded from opaque material in identical molds so that the entire wall has the same expansion and contraction characteristics and surface finish. By forming the units from a hard acrylic sheet material on the order of .187 inch thick, they are given excellent impact strength, on the order of 7 to 16 times better than that of double strength glass, and improved heat insulating value. The .187 in. thick acrylic sheet material transmits 1.09 B.t.u. per hour per square foot per degree Fahrenheit, compared to 1.23 B.t.u. for .187 in. glass in. crystal). The prefabrication of wall sections in the manner described greatly reduces the job-site installation cost.

Hard acrylic resins such as methyl methacrylate and ethyl methacrylate in sheets on the order of .125 to .25 in. thick are known to be suitable for molding to the shapes required for the wall and glazing units of this invention. Other synthetic resins suitable for use in forming the units are known to those skilled in the art, and it will be evident that the present invention is not limited to acrylic units. Due to their resistance to impact force and ready scalability, an important field of use of the invention is in the glazing of skylights.

I claim:

1. An integral glazing unit formed from hard, selfsustaining plastic material and defined by a main central panel, reversely an-gularly bent exterior trim members at the edges of said main central panel and surrounding the same, jamb members extending laterally from said trim members and interior trim members projecting outwardly from said jamb members, said trim members and jamb members defining a channel shaped outwardly open unitary return adapted to extend through a wall opening to receive-supporting frame members.

2. A glazing unit in accordance with claim 1 in which a pair of said jamb members extend vertically in spaced parallel relation one to the other to engage supporting frame members between said exterior and interior trim members.

3. A glazing unit in accordance with claim 1 in which said main panel is. translucent and said jamb members are formed with vertically elongated inwardly open grooves.

4. A unit in accordance with claim 1 in which said thermoplastic resin is selected from the group consisting of hard sheets of ethyl methacrylate and methyl methacrylate on the order of A3 inch to A inch thick.

References Cited by' the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,166,870 7/1939 Livesay 50l03 2,229,977 1/ 1941 Walley 52-309 2,817,399 12/1957 Donaldson et al 179 2,913,779 11/ 1959 Hedgren 2040 3,075,248 1/1963 Harrison 50267 3,140,007 7/ 1964 Nettleship 215-49 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,268,111 6/1961 France.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

REINALDO P. MACHADO, Examiner.

A. I. BREIER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN INTEGRAL GLAZING UNIT FORMED FROM HARD, SELFSUSTAINING PLASTIC MATERIAL AND DEFINED BY A MAIN CENTRAL PANEL, REVERSELY ANGULARLY BENT EXTERIOR TRIM MEMBERS AT THE EDGES OF SAID MAIN CENTRAL PANEL AND SURROUNDING THE SAME, JAMB MEMBERS EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM SAID TRIM MEMBERS AND INTERIOR TRIM MEMBERS PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID JAMB MEMBERS, SAID TRIM MEMBERS AND JAMB MEMBERS DEFINING A CHANNEL SHAPED OUTWARDLY OPEN UNITARY RETURN ADAPTED TO EXTEND THROUGH A WALL OPENING TO RECEIVE SUPPORTING FRAME MEMBERS. 